Convertible vehicle body



May 21, 1929. I CHANDLER 1,713,949

CONVERTIBLE VEHI CLE BODY Filed April 6. 192? 9. (Za/M/e} 7% J22 W Patented ltlay f ll, lllfto.

ll l

arias HARRY A. CHANDLER,

on sroux CITY, IOWA.

CONVERTIBLE VEHICLE BODY.

Application. filed April 6,

My invention relates to convertible vehicle bodies of the type illustrated and claimed in my prior Patent Number 1,627,- 833 May 10, 1927, and the primary object of the present invention is to improve upon and simplify the construction illustrated in that application.

More specifically, the present invention has for its aim to obtain the extension of the side of the vehicle in a single operation instead of several. To that end, the doors and intervening posts are carried by a swinging, extensible casing, which is hinged to the vehicle body on an axis closely adj oining the axis of the rear door where the rear .door is of the type hinged at its rear edge, the forward portion of the casing being free to swing laterally and positive controlling means being provided to obtain such lateral swinging.

Another object of the invention is to obtain a casing, as described in the preceding paragraph, and to construct this casing with relatively thin sheet metal upper and lower walls, whereby the edges of said walls will be substantial]. invisible when the casin is in its inner position, registering with the normal lines of the vehicle body.

Another object is to provide means for removably connecting the intermediate post between these thin sheet metal walls in such a manner that, when connected, the post may be locked tightly at its ends against both of the walls in order to aid in bracing the walls against sagging and to form a more rigid structure. I

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple device for propelling the casing away from and toward the body of the vehicle, as has already been mentioned, said device being attached to accomplish its function in such a manner as to insure against binding of the casing against the vehicle body by maintaining the casing in correct plumb, said means including an operating handle conveniently located for operation and yet in a position not to be in the way at any time.

A still further object of this invention is to obtain a novel method of attaching the forward wall to the casing when in extended position andlocking it securely in place without the use of bolts or the like, thereby obtaining the desired result seen in the inven tion of my co-pending application, hereinbefore referred to of having the forward 1927. Serial No. 181,401.

wall removable so that, when the casing is in its normal inner position, this forward wall will not extend into the vehicle to obstruct the vision and otherwise be in the way.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of my device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a horizontal, sectional View through the extensible side of a vehicle employing my invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the casing extended, one of the doors being partially removed to show the hinged connection of the casing.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the forward portion of the casing in extended position, the forward wall being shown in the process of being attached.

Fig. 4 is a vertical, sectional view taken on the line 4llof Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a detail, sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a detail, sectional View taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a detail, sectional view through one of the horizontal walls of the casing,- illustrating the intermediate post and its connecting mechanism.

Fig. 8 is a detail, sectional view taken on the line 88 of Fig. 7, the post not being shown.

Fig. 9 is a detail, sectional view taken on the line 99 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 10 is an elevation taken as indicated by the line l010 of Fig. 4:.

In my copending application, referred to, I have described the advantages of a vehicle which may be converted from a passenger automobile to a casket coach by extending one side to a position parallel with the axis of the vehicle. The extending is done in the construction of that application by individit ally extending intermediate post, which separates the doors of the vehicle, and the hinges, which carry the forward door in order that they may be brought into alignment in the proper extended position.

The extending of the post and forward door hinges comprise two separate operations and in addition to these, it is necessary to insert a pair of flaps or sheet metal walls horizontal positions at the upper and lowerextremities of the forward door in order to close the space which will he.

formed between the upper and lower edges of the door and the vehicle body door frame.- This' adds two more operations to the task of converting the vehicle from one type of body to the other and in addition there is the-necessity of attaching a forward wall to the hinges ofthe forward door to close the space between the forward'door and the vehicle bod-y. My present invention contemplates forming a unitary casing including upper and lower walls and a forward connecting portion, the forward door and intermediate post being permanently carried by the casing so that the extension of the easing serves to. extend the doors and posts to-' getller withthe casing. Thus the live operations originally describedwill berreduced V g to a single operation and the added operapanel16, (Fig. 1), the lower-panel 16" and the. forward connecting post-.17, which is comparatively thin, being just sufficiently heavy to insure proper strength and rigidity. It will be noted that the'post 17 is positioned in a plane extending transversely of the vehicle and that when the casing is in 1ts closed position, that the post 17 will lie flush against the forward face of the post 11.-

Rigidly secured to the post 17, at itsluppcr and, lowerends, and extending inwardly, are

the extension arms 18 and 18'. The arms are, slidably mounted in dove-tailed slots 19 in blocks 20, which are secured to the post 11, (Figs. 4 and The forward. door-21 ishinged at 22 to the post 17, and at the upper and lower ends of the door, the hinges22 may be formed directly on the ends of thearms 18 and 18.

It will be noted that the upper panel 16 is supported by the upper extension arm 18 by means of an angle plate 28, (Fig. 4).

plate and to form a rigid construction. The angle plate 23 is secured to the arm 18 and the walllfi slides against the plate 23 as the casing is moved from. one position to another. 'This is necessary as will later be ap parent when the connection of the arms 18 and 18 with the vehicle post 11 is considered The lower panel 16 rests against the floor of thevehicle at all times, (Figs. 1 and 2),

and may or may not be connected to the extension arm '18 in this manner. The arm 18 may be formed with a hinge 2 1, dividing it into two portions, the longer of which extends within the vehicle when the casing is in closed position and which may be pushed forwardly, as shown in Fig- 5, to a position out of the way; The actuating mechanism comprises a shaft 25, journalled in gear boxes 26, secured to the bx 11 and provided within said gear boxes with; drivepinions 12?, which engage rack teeth 28 on the forward faces of the extension arms 18 and 18 respectively. The shaft 25 is rotated by means of a worm 28, meshingwith a work wheel 29 on the shaft 25 within a worm housing 30. A crank has flattened portion 32, which engages a screw driver slot 33 in the shaft of the worm 2 8 and is attachable to the worm shaft in this manner when it is desired to rotate The. l'iousing 30 is secured to the instrument board 342 of the vehicle for convenient operation. it will now be seen that rotation of the crank 31 in engagement with the worm 28 will cause the shaft 25 to rotate, thus extending the arms 18 and 18 the latter carrying the casing from closed to open position or. vice versa'. As the casing swings, the intermediate post 35, which separates the doors 21 and 36, will be swung substantially on an arc concentric with the axis 37 of the rear door36 and the latter will thus remain in engagement with the post. Therewill be some tendency for the post and door to pull apart, due to the offsetting of the axis 38 of the casing, but not sufiicient to destroy the latching engagement of the door with the post.

:The panels 16 and 16 are shaped so that Lwhen the casing is in closed position, their outer edges wlll conform to the contour of the vehicle body and when in extended? position their inner edges will overlap. the floor 13, as shown in Fig. 2, thereby forming a snug joint all times between the. vehicle casing and the body.

The intermediate post the purpose of allowing a casket to be in"- serte'd into the vehiclefrom the side. I provide means for rigidly connecting the post to the walls 16 and. 16 as follows i To the panels ldand 16s are secured loops 39, shown in Figs. '7 and. 8,. and: slida-bly mounted within. the post 35 is an arm. 40; Th1s;1s to prevent saggingv of the upper having a hook 11, its. upper endprojeeting beyond the side of the post and adapted to enter the loop 39. The arm 4&0; ispulled downwardly by means of an eccentric: cam

42 forming part of the. shaft-43 journalled in the post 35' and rotated by means of a lever 4 1-. The arm 40 has an. eccentriebear- 35 is removable for ing 45, encircling the cam 42 and as thelever 4: 1 is. moved upwardly, the arm 40willbe pulled, downwardly, thereby engaging-the loop 39 and pulling the wall 16 tightly against the upper end of the post 35. An identical construction is provided for the lower end of the post. y

In order to close the space between the post 17 and the post 11 when the casing is extended, I provide the forward removable wall plate 46, which is curved at its outer edge, as at 4:7, to cover the hinges 32 and which is provided at its inner edge with a flange 48, adapted to bear against the post 11 and to be locked thereagainst by means of latch buttons 49. The upper and lower edges of the forward wall plate 46 are channeled at 50 and the forward edges of the panels 16 and 16 are bent upwardly and downwardly to form flanges 51, (Fig. 6), which receive the channels 50 for attaching the plates 16 to the casing. It will now be seen that the plates 46 may be simply slid into place over the flanges 51 until the flanges 48 contact with the posts 11, whereupon the flanges may be locked against the posts by rotating the buttons {l9 and the worm 28,

; tightened to bring pressure of the hinge elements 22 against the curved portion 47 of the plates, thereby locking the plates under pressure against the buttons 49 and eliminating all loose connections which might cause rattling.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my invention without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents, which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a convertible vehicle body, an extensible casing including two doors and an intermediate post, forming part of one side thereof, and hinged to the body on a vertical axis at its rear end, and including upperand lower panels substantially flush with the ceiling and floor of the body and slidable therewithin.

2. In a convertible vehicle body, an extensible casing including two doors and and an intermediate post, forming part of one side thereof, and hinged to the body on a vertical axis at its rear end, and including upper and lower walls substantially flush with the ceiling and floor of the body and slidable therein and extension arms slidably mounted upon the body and supporting the forward end of the casing.

In a convertible vehicle body, an extensible casing including two doors and an intermediate post, forming part of oneside thereof, and hinged to the body on a vertical axis at its rear end, and extension arms slidably mounted upon'the vehicle body and supporting the forward end of the casing, said arms being provided with rack teeth and rotatable pinions journalled to the body and engaging said rack teeth for positively controlling the positions of the arms.

4. In a convertible vehicle body, an extensible casing including two doorsand an intermediate post forming, part of one side thereof, and hinged to the body on a ver tical axis at its rear end, and extension arms slidably mounted upon the vehicle body and supporting the forward end of the casing, said arms being provided with rack teeth, rotatable pinions journalled to thebody and engaging said rack teeth for positively controlling the positions of the arms, a vertical shaft carrying said pinions, and a worm and worm gear drive for said shaft.

5. In a convertible vehicle body, an extensible casing including two doors and an intermediate post, forming part of one side thereof, and hinged to the body on a vertical axis at its rear end, and including upper and lower panels substantially flush with the ceiling and floor of the body and slidable therewithin, a relatively thin postconnecting the forward extremities of said walls, the end of the casing being hinged to the vehicle body on a vertical axis and extension arms slidably mounted upon the body and supporting said post. 7

6. In a convertible vehicle body, an extensible casing, including two doors and an intermediate post, forming part of one side thereof, and hinged to the body on a vertical axis at its rear end; upper and lower panels substantially flush with the ceiling and the floor of the body, respectively, and slidable therewithin, a relatively thin post connecting the forward extremities of said panels, extension arms, provided with rack teeth, slidably mounted upon the body and supporting the said post, and rotatable pinions journalled to the body and engaging said rack teeth for positively controlling the positions of the arms.

7. In a convertible vehicle body, an extensible casing including two doors and an intermediate post, forming part of one side thereof, and hinged to the body on a vertical axis at its rear end, and including upper and lower panels substantially flush with the ceiling and floor of the body and slidable therewithin, and extension arms slidably mounted upon the vehicle body and supporting the forward end of the casing, said upper and lower panels having their outer edges curved to register with the contour of the vehicle body when the casing is in closed position.

8. In a convertible vehicle body, an extensible casing including two doors and an intermediate post forming part of one side thereof, and hinged to the body on a vertical axis at its rear end, and including up per and lower panels substantially flush with the ceiling and floor of the body and lower panelsin positions to be engaged by said hooked ends,

9'. In aconvertible vehicle body, an extensible casing including two doors and an intermediate post, forming part of one side thereof; and hinged tothe body" on a ver-'- tical axis at its rear end, and including up per and lower panels substantially flush with the ceilingand floor of the body and slidable therewithin, and extension arms slidably mounted upon the vehicle body and supporting the forward end of the casing, the

forward ends of the upper and lower panels being bent upwardlyand downwardly to form-vertical flanges, and an attachable fored to receive said flanges.

ward wall having channels atits ends adapt 10. In a convertible vehicle tensl ble casing including upper and lower casing members, an intermediate post and two doors, the casing forming part of one slde of the body "and being hinged thereto on a vertical axis at 1ts rear extrernlty and adaptedto be extended as an integral unit,

the rear door being hinged to the body on a vertical axis, substantially coinciding with 1 that of the casing.

11. In a convertible vehicle body, an extensible casing including upper and lower casing members, an intermediate post and two doors, the casing forming part of one side of the body and being hinged thereto on body, an exmiss 1e a vertical axis at its rear extremity and adapted to be extended as an integral'unit;

12. In 'a convertible vehicle body, an extensible casing "including upper and "lower casing members, an intermediate post, two

doors separated by said post and a relatively casing members, an intermediate post, two' doors separated by said post and a relatively-thin post connecting the forward ex tremities of said upper and lower casing members, the "casing being hinged at its rear extremity to the body on a vertical axis and adapted to be extended as an integral unit, said relatively thin post beingreceived between the forward edge of the forward door and the. adjacent vehicle body post in a plane transverse tothe axis of the vehicle when the casing is closed. v

14. In a convertible vehicle body, an extensible casing including upper and lower casing members, an intermediate post, two doors separated by said post'and a relatively thin post connecting the forward ex,- treinities of said upper and lower casing members, the casing being hinged at its rear extremity to the body on a vertical axis and adapted to be extendedras an integral unit.

Signed this 1st dayiof April, 1927, in the county of Voodbury and State of Iowa.

HARRY A. CHANDLER.

a convertible vehicle body, an ex-. 

